With an emphasis on performance and an eye for detail, A2 Hosting aims to seek out and avoid the typical shortcomings of many web hosts out there. We got a chance to chat with A2's CEO, Bryan Muthig, and Director of Business Development, Andy Melichar, to discuss the technologies behind the features that set A2 apart from the hosting community.

Category Ratings

Best Overall Rating

“If speed and performance, partnered with support and security, are at all priorities in your web host shopping, A2 Hosting should be a leading contender.

Tech Talk with Bryan Muthig (CEO) & Andy Melichar

We got to sit down with A2 Hosting's CEO, Bryan Muthig, and Director of Business Development, Andy Melichar. Discussing the technologies behind their products only piqued our interest, and we were very excited to be let loose within the hosting nerd's playground that is A2's interface.

Forward-Thinking for Faster Performance

When A2 Hosting first launched in 2003, they were developer-focused. "We were actually one of the first companies to offer PHP 5, and one of the first hosting companies to offer Ruby on Rails in the shared hosting platform," Bryan told us.

Elaborate Customer Survey Reveals "Performance" as a Top Priority

As they've grown, a primary focus has been performance, especially after a survey asking customers to rank the features they look for in a host revealed "site load speed and performance" as a top priority, behind support and reliability.

SSD Hosting Yields a 300% Increase in Page Load Speeds

A2 Hosting was also one of the first to offer SSD hosting, and today, they remain one of only a handful of SSD hosts out there. "When we looked at SSDs, we said, 'If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right,'" Andy told us. Many hosting companies that attempt offering SSDs only include them on the file server and not the SQL server; therefore, web files can be uploaded, but performance suffers almost immediately.

A2 includes SSDs across the entire stack, and Bryan told us they found around a 300 percent increase in page load speeds using them. "We really look at things very deeply to be sure that we’re not just doing something because it’s the new, cool catch-word that people are talking about," Andy said. "We actually want it to be useful and to make a difference and not detract from the customer experience."

Turbo Hosting: A2-Optimized Caching & 20x Faster Page Loads

In the last year, A2 has launched their own Turbo hosting platform, with pre-configured caching options that include OPcache, Memcached, and a custom Turbo Cache product that resembles Varnish, but works with SSL (unlike Varnish). With the Turbo option, A2-optimized caching tools, and A2-optimized software available, sites experience page loads speeds up to 20 times faster than average.

Servers, Datacenters, and "Perpetual Security"

Whether you want a dedicated server, standard shared hosting with cPanel, VPS, or some hybrid hosting solution in between, A2 can offer hosting to meet your needs. With expertly-tuned servers that house fewer accounts, A2 promises uptimes of 99.9% or higher, with "Guru Crew" customer support available all day, everyday.

VPS vs. Managed Cloud vs. Flex Dedicated vs. Managed Flex Dedicated

While A2's Turbo hosting platform is an excellent stepping stone prior to graduating from the shared space, A2 Hosting also offers exceptional hosting solutions once you're ready to migrate to VPS, cloud, or dedicated servers.

Get full root access, SSD speed boost, and your choice of operating system with their Dynamic VPS, Cloud VPS, and Flex Dedicated Server plans. If you prefer a managed dedicated server, their Managed Flex Dedicated Server package comes pre-configured, with cPanel and HostGuard's comprehensive server management.

Quadruple Redundancy with 3 Datacenters

A2 runs accounts on their own, high-speed SwiftServer platform, with datacenter locations based out of Michigan (USA), Amsterdam (Europe), and Singapore (Asia). They offer a quadruple redundant network with security monitoring established 24/7.

"Perpetual Security": KernelCare, HackScan, and Proactive Protection

A2's "Perpetual Security" includes their own hack scanning protection software: HackScan, KernelCare for daily, automatic, and rebootless kernel updates, and access to their Server Rewind backup system for database recovery. Their proactive security also includes an A2-optimized plugin for auto-hardening of WordPress sites to prevent hacks, brute-force defense, virus scanning, and dual firewall protection.

A2 Hosting in a Nutshell: Speed, Security, and Support

Overall, you can't go wrong in choosing A2 Hosting as a web host. Their inventive hosting solutions, impressive performance and security measures, and the constant thought they put into the user experience warrant our high praise for their services.”

Cheap Rating

“There are plenty of excellent cPanel shared hosting providers out there, so what sets A2 apart from the rest? Not only do they offer a ton of features, they've custom-built their packages for enhanced performance, speed, and security — putting your priorities above pricing.

Custom Features for Usability & Security

With an emphasis on performance, A2 has then gone above and beyond to craft A2-optimized, performance-enhancing solutions for their services.

A2-Optimized Software: WordPress & PrestaShop

They have an A2-optimized plugin for WordPress that pre-configures caching and compression options, allowing you to get started on the content side of things quickly and easily. If you land and convert on A2's WordPress landing page, they automatically install both WordPress and their optimization plugin, so the performance enhancements are built in. Similarly, they developed a cPanel plugin that is designed to detect a recent PrestaShop installation and auto-configure optimizations for you.

Speed Solutions with Turbo Servers & Site Accelerator

Not only was A2 one of the first to offer SSD hosting — featuring three times the page load speeds of standard hosts — but they also built their own Turbo hosting platform. A2's Turbo Servers yield 20 times faster page load speeds, using less CPU and less memory, with fewer users on each server. They also offer their A2-exclusive Site Accelerator, with SPDY and HTTP/2 support.

Final Words on Affordable A2 Hosting

A2 spends a great deal of time and effort performance testing and feeling out the competition to ensure they're giving their customers the best speed, security, and support they can offer, at a price users can afford. Their A2-optimized solutions make it easy, and the usefulness and reliability of their products make them cost-effective. With their 24/7 support, including a WordPress-specific support department, we're confident A2 Hosting can provide the assistance you need to get an affordable site launched and thriving.”

Flex Dedicated Server (for Developers & System Admins)

With A2's Flex Dedicated Server plan, users get administrator-level control with root access and their choice of Linux operating system. Your server will be ready for your configuration, with SolusVM control panel included. Plus, they offer 24/7/365 server monitoring and maintenance for hardware.

Flex Dedicated Server (Managed by HostGuard)

A2 also offers a managed option for dedicated hosting, which features comprehensive server management by HostGuard. Their managed dedicated servers are pre-configured and include cPanel control panel for user control.

High-Speed Hosting: SwiftServers, SSDs, & Turbo Servers

A2's dedicated servers feature their SwiftServers — expertly-tuned with performance enhancements. A2 was one of the first in their field to offer SSD hosting, and their customers receive free SSDs, which contribute to page loading speeds as much as three times faster than those of standard web hosts. A2's SwiftServer network is also equipped with SwiftCache, which is powered by OPcache, as well as their own Turbo Cache product, which functions with similar technology to that of Varnish.

Server Specs

Servers are never overloaded, and A2 notifies you of targeted server occurrences, such as high load volume or when a filesystem becomes full. With datacenters strategically based in three nations, A2 offers US- and Euro-based dedicated server locations and high redundancy (10Gb/s). A2's dedicated hosting plans include instant account activation, with plenty of processing power and RAM to get you started. When you outgrow your server, A2 makes the migration upgrade simple by moving your entire system using Xen.

Security

A2's "Perpetual Security" features their hack scanning detection mechanism: HackScan, and KernelCare for auto-updates to kernels, which run daily with no reboot necessary. With the managed package, HostGuard takes care of security patches, control panel updates, and both installation and upgrades for core software. A2's Smart System Notifier quickly notifies their support staff of any network-related or hardware issues that arise, aiming to resolve said issues before they're even brought to customers' attention.

Last Words on A2's Dedicated Hosting

No matter the level of control you're looking for, if it's a dedicated hosting solution you need, A2's servers can get your job done swiftly and successfully. A2 has poured numerous resources into creating efficiency tools and performance enhancements for all of their hosting plans, including their managed services.

With custom software solutions, "Turbo" speed boosts, proactive protection, and tons of optimizations, A2 Hosting features user-based, performance-focused products; their dedicated servers just show a concentrated representation of their commitment to performance for their customers.”

VPS Rating

“While A2's Turbo platform serves as the perfect "training wheels," so to speak, before migrating from shared hosting to a VPS or dedicated server, A2 Hosting also offers some stellar VPS options. "We still do quite a bit of VPS, which is actually where we’ve seen the strongest area of growth," Bryan said.

VPS Hosting (Dynamic and Cloud)

A2's growth in the VPS hosting space didn't surprise us. They offer two packaged solutions: Dynamic VPS and Cloud VPS, which are both hosted on their SwiftServer platform, with SSDs for page loading speeds up to three times faster than average.

They offer 24/7/365 live chat support, a public phone number to speak to an actual human when you need help, and no additional fee for premium support. All VPS users get full root access, plus cPanel and their choice of operating system.

Featuring: Next-Generation Cloud VPS Hosting

A2’s Cloud VPS users receive the ultimate redundancy and reliability of a high-availability failover, absolutely free. Customers can create their own custom-fit server and only pay for the features they want. Then, users can control said resource consumption within cPanel, and resize their account as needed.

Performance, Page Loading, and A2-Optimized Solutions

When it comes to speed and performance, A2 Hosting pulls out all the stops. Their Turbo VPS speed-boosting option features their Turbo Servers, which, partnered with their exclusive Site Accelerator, produce page load speeds up to 20 times faster than average.

Turbo Cache

For caching, the Turbo platform is also equipped with A2’s Turbo Cache product, which works similarly to a Varnish cache. The Turbo Cache stores and serves HTML contents without running PHP, and unlike Varnish, Turbo Cache works with SSL. A2’s Turbo Servers are enabled with SPDY and HTTP/2 support, with ESI as well.

A2-Optimized Plugins

A2 has developed several plugins for cPanel, WordPress, PrestaShop, et cetera, to ensure easy setup and installation, while keeping the A2 environment in mind. Not only are many installations 1-click, but auto-optimizations are available as well. In the case of their WordPress plugin, “it’s got a nice, pre-configured environment that’s going to be good for most users,” Bryan explained, “and then if you want to configure it or customize it yourself, of course, you’re able to do that.” A2 also offers an auto-hardening plugin for WordPress users for protection against hacker attacks.

24/7 Support & Security

With their “Guru Crew” support team available round-the-clock, A2 also offers 24/7 network security monitoring and proactive protection measures. The “Perpetual Security” included features HackScan, A2’s hacker detection mechanism, KernelCare for daily, rebootless kernel auto-updates, as well as virus scanning and defense against brute-force attacks.

VPS Hosting with A2 in Conclusion

VPS hosting with A2 holds a breadth of opportunities for customization, cost control, and custom solutions built for their server network. With an emphasis on performance and a commitment to solving customer problems, you won't regret going "Turbo" with A2 Hosting's VPS packages.”

WordPress Rating

“If shared web hosting is what you need, A2 Hosting is the perfect host to help launch your site with your choice of CMS, including WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and others. As part of A2's promise to emphasize performance, they've concocted several A2-optimized features specifically for WordPress.

Getting Started: cPanel, 1-Click Installs, and Softaculous

A2's shared web hosting plans come with cPanel 11 control panel, where users can access Softaculous auto-installer. Easily install popular web applications, including your choice of CMS, with one click.

"If you land on our WordPress landing page, and order WordPress hosting, we auto-install WordPress and our optimization plugin," Bryan said. "You don’t have to do anything."

A2-Optimized Software and Caching Tools

"We wanted to make these performance enhancements really accessible to people," Andy said, so A2 has come up with several plugins and tools designed to operate in their online environment. These features are available for all users, including VPS and managed services customers.

A prime example of A2's custom performance enhancers would be their exclusive Site Accelerator, which helps A2 users experience page loading up to 20 times faster than that of the average web host.

Auto-Configurations for WordPress, Joomla, & Drupal

A2 has optimized tools to auto-configure popular software, including WordPress, with auto-optimizations like compression and caching. "We're trying to ease all the friction points for the users and make sure we’re solving their problems," Andy told us.

Auto-Configurations for PrestaShop and eCommerce Options

Once you've installed PrestaShop, an A2-optimized cPanel plugin will automatically detect it and allow you to set up all "normal" optimizations. "We'll go in and configure everything the way that we know it will work best on our servers," Andy said.

Other eCommerce features include access to SSL certificates, PayPal merchant accounts, and a Merchant ID with E-onlinedata (with instant activation). When it comes to marketing your site or online store, A2 users can get $50 towards paid ads. Plus, with Attracta, a free SEO tool available in cPanel, sites are listed in Google within 24 hours.

A2-Optimized Enhanced Security

In addition to enhanced speed and performance, A2 Hosting includes "Perpetual Security," which features several custom technologies.

Proactive Protection & 24/7 Network Monitoring

A2 has built another custom plugin for WordPress users to prevent hacking. The software auto-hardens WordPress sites for proactive protection against hackers. Additionally, A2 offers virus scanning, a dual firewall, and brute-force attack protection — not to mention SPAM filtering for emails, which are also IMAP, POP3, and SMTP supported.

Final Words on A2 Hosting for WordPress

A2 Hosting offers 24/7 customer support and tons of A2-optimized features made with WordPress users in mind. Whether you're an online retailer looking to launch a fresh site with PrestaShop, or a moderately web-savvy WordPress user looking for speed and security excellence, we'd highly recommend A2 Hosting.”

Website Builder Rating

“When it comes to site-building, A2 Hosting sets users up with all the tools they need to get a website built, launched, and thriving. "Our bread and butter is still the cPanel shared hosting," Bryan said. With cPanel included in all A2 plans, customers have access to a smorgasbord of site-building tools and 1-click installations.

Solutions & Perks

A2 Hosting packages come equipped with Cloudflare CDN and cPanel, where users can find a breadth of resources — including Softaculous auto-installer.

1-Click Installations & A2-Optimized Software

From the cPanel control panel, A2 customers can setup their choice of web applications, CMSs, eCommerce features, and more. A2 strives to make these setup processes as simplistic and intuitive as possible. They've built A2-optimized plugins, so not only are installations done in one click, but A2-optimized configurations are done automatically.

Performance & Speed

"We realize that performance is what we really need to focus on," Andy said. A2 has developed several key features geared towards emphasizing just that.

Turbo Servers & Site Accelerator

In the last year, A2 has launched their Turbo hosting platform. Partnered with their exclusive Site Accelerator, A2's Turbo platform produces page loads up to 20 times faster than your average web host.

Caching & Page Loading

Their Turbo platform includes OPcache for caching (a rare find in the shared hosting space), as well as their own Turbo Cache product, which works similarly to Varnish.

Security & Protection

HackScan, KernelCare, & Proactive Protection

A2's "Perpetual Security" includes a free scan with their hack detection mechanism: HackScan. They also include KernelCare — daily, automatic, and rebootless kernel updating. For WordPress users, A2 has built a plugin to auto-harden WordPress sites to prevent hacking. Other features available include virus scanning, brute-attack defense, SPAM protection for emails, and auto-heal hosting protection.

24/7 Support & Security Monitoring

A2's "Guru Crew" is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide expert support for their customers. A2 also maintains 24/7 network security monitoring of their expertly-tuned servers.

Site-Building with A2 in a Nutshell

A2's cPanel hosting equips users with everything they need to build a website, plus enhancements to make their web experience safer and simpler. Andy put it best when he told us A2 is "trying to ease all the friction points for the users." They find and solve your potential problems, so you can get on to producing content for your new site.”

Features

(4.8 / 5.0)

"Turbo" Speed and A2-Optimized Software

A2's Turbo Servers offer page load speeds up to 20 times faster than standard hosting. Using less CPU and memory, and fewer users per server, the Turbo option handles connections efficiently, with enhanced stability and speed.

The Turbo Servers are hosted on SwiftServer SSDs, which perform thousands of input/output operations per second — up to three times faster than standard hard drives.

A2 has created an A2-optimized plugin for WordPress that auto-hardens your site to prevent hacks, while also including a unique WordPress login URL, automatic WordPress updates, and ReCaptcha on the login page.

With 24/7 support from the "Guru Crew," and 24/7/365 security monitoring, A2 offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Other components of their proactive protection include brute-force defense, dual web hosting firewall, and virus scanning.

Web Apps, eCommerce, and Marketing

All A2 accounts come with a free Cloudflare CDN and cPanel, with Softaculous auto-installer available for easy installation of popular web applications. 1-click installs are available for popular CMSs, like WordPress and Magento, as well as eCommerce apps like PrestaShop.

SSL certificates and PayPal merchant accounts are available, and shared plans come with a free website magazine subscription. Users can also start marketing their site with $50-worth of free advertising credits from Bing.

Sites hosted on A2's shared servers will be listed in Google within 24 hours via Attracta, a free SEO tool included in cPanel. Attracta will crawl your site, create an XML sitemap, and immediately submit to search engines.

Domains, Databases, and Developer Perks

In addition to offering free site transfers and unlimited RAID-10 storage, A2 offers up to unlimited domains, databases, and email accounts. Emails are supported by POP3, IMAP, and SMTP, with options to activate Barracuda advanced SPAM filtering included.

For advanced users, A2's dedicated servers offer root access and CloudLinux OS. A2 has three datacenters based in the US, Europe, and Asia, with a quadruple redundant network.

A2 is multi-language supported, featuring PHP 7, which is now available for Turbo plan customers. MySQL is always kept up-to-date, with SSH included and phpMyAdmin pre-installed. For database recovery, A2's Server Rewind backups are included for free.

Ease of Use

(4.9 / 5.0)

A2-Optimized Installations

Cloudflare CDN & Security Features

Server Rewind for DB Recovery

A2 Hosting is committed to building performance enhancement tools for their platform, while keeping the implementations simplistic for their users. Their A2-optimized installations, auto-configurations, and plugins make setup for WordPress and web applications easier than ever. With cPanel control panel, users can easily access a wealth of popular products, from SEO tools to security features. A2 offers tons of custom enhancements for caching, security, backups, and more, like HackScan, their hack detection mechanism, or Server Rewind, their database recovery tool.

Pricing

"Lite" Plan

"Swift" Plan

"Turbo" Plan

A2 Hosting may not be the cheapest web host in the space, but they pack the most bang for your buck into their plans.

Shared Hosting: Lite, Swift, & Turbo

Really, you can't put a price on customer service and custom products. With A2, you get 24/7/365 customer support, including a WordPress-specific support department, as well as features optimized for the A2 environment.

VPS Hosting: Dynamic, Cloud, & Managed Services

Comparing their VPS services, you can choose between A2's Dynamic VPS plan for $9.89/month and their Cloud VPS plan for $15.00/month, or opt out of the worrying altogether with total HostGuard management. A2 offers three managed VPS hosting packages: Power+, Prestige+, and Pinnacle+, with monthly rates starting at $32.99.

Dedicated Hosting: Flex vs. Managed Flex

Finally, if dedicated server reliability is what you need, A2 offers two solutions: the Flex Dedicated Server and the Managed Flex Dedicated Server. The former is perfect for developers and experienced system administrators in need of an upgrade from VPS; the latter offers fully-managed peace of mind to hosting users who have outgrown the shared and/or managed VPS space(s). Both dedicated solutions are instantly activated and ultra reliable.

Reliability & Support

A2 Hosting has built their services upon the promise of reliable servers and a supportive team, and their efforts are reflected in the performance and user experience of A2-hosted sites.

Software, Servers, and Support Team

They offer A2-optimized software, a unique Turbo Server designed for optimal page load speeds (up to 20 times faster than average), and a 99.9% uptime guarantee. With 24/7 network monitoring and a US-based support team available all day, everyday (including a team devoted to WordPress support), A2 Hosting includes unwavering and highly-praised customer and tech support. Their "Guru Crew" consists of hand-selected team members equipped to handle any hosting conundrum — from first-time blog setup to advanced PHP hosting support.

"Perpetual Security" → FREE HackScan, KernelCare, and More

With their "Perpetual Security" promise, A2 focuses on proactive protection — featuring their exclusive hack scanning and detection product, HackScan. All A2 plans also benefit from automatic, rebootless kernel updates, conducted daily as part of A2's KernelCare product. Other security perks include defense against brute-force attacks, firewall protection, and an A2-optimized plugin for WordPress that auto-hardens your site to prevent hacker attacks.

A2 Hosting: Reliability & Support In a Nutshell

A2's security stack is relentless and reliable — offering constant and consistent protection for customers, and a safer web space for the sites they've entrusted to A2 Hosting.

The Rundown

With about 50 employees total (30 of which are support-focused), A2 Hosting strives for optimum performance and out-of-the-box thinking, which has led to the incredible innovations we discussed with Bryan and Andy. With a lot of performance testing and comparing their products to other hosts, A2 strikes the balance: speed and reliability meets quality support.

They were among the first in their field to offer SSD hosting (and even today they're one out of a handful), PHP 5, as well as Ruby on Rails for shared servers — thus representing their commitment to forward-thinking as a web host. With custom products like their Turbo Server, and A2-optimized tools for caching, WordPress, PrestaShop, and more (many of which can be installed with one click), A2 Hosting is cutting-edge and user-centric.

Are you a site-building amateur? Or on the other hand, are you an advanced user seeking ultimate reliability on dedicated servers? Perhaps you're just lost in the middle, searching for a happy medium between shared and VPS hosting. Regardless of where you fall on the hosting needs spectrum, A2 has a solution involving speed, security, and support for your website.

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